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Sharp drop in public satisfaction with the NHS, new analysis shows

News, 28 February 2018

Dissatisfaction in the NHS has risen to 29% which is the highest in a decade, according to an analysis of the National Centre for Social Research’s (NatCen) British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, a gold standard measure of public views on the NHS, by the Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund think tanks.

While satisfaction across the board remains significantly higher than dissatisfaction, the think tanks say the results reflect the public’s growing anxieties over the funding and staffing of the NHS. The proportion of people citing concerns over NHS staff shortages and a lack of funding as a reason for their dissatisfaction grew in 2017 compared to previous years. At the same time the proportion citing money being wasted in the NHS as a reason for dissatisfaction fell.

Key findings from the survey, which was carried out by NatCen between July and October 2017, include:

The proportion of people who said they were ‘very’ or ‘quite’ satisfied with the NHS fell from 63% in 2016 to 57% in 2017. Those who said they were ‘very’ or ‘quite’ dissatisfied grew from 22% in 2016 to 29% in 2017.

The four main reasons for satisfaction were: the quality of care, the fact the NHS was free at the point of use, the attitudes and behaviour of NHS staff and the range of services and treatments available. The four main reasons for dissatisfaction were: staff shortages, long waiting times, lack of funding and government reforms.

Overall satisfaction with the NHS was higher among people aged 65 years or older (63%) than among adults under 65 (55%). Between 2016 and 2017, satisfaction fell among all age groups.

Satisfaction with GP services fell to 65% in 2017 and inpatient services fell to 55% in 2017. Satisfaction rates in NHS dentistry, NHS outpatient services and A&E remained stable between this year and last year.

Satisfaction with social care services was 23% in 2017 and dissatisfaction increased by 6 percentage points in 2017 to 41%t.

Professor John Appleby, Chief Economist and Director of Research at the Nuffield Trust, said: "Despite mounting pressure on the NHS, satisfaction in the health service has remained high in recent years, with satisfaction staying above 60% for most of this decade. In the last year, however, the tide has started to turn. The drop in satisfaction and rise in dissatisfaction this year suggest that the public are worried about the NHS.

"We know that public dissatisfaction is increasingly driven by concerns over funding and staffing levels and they’re right to be anxious. As the NHS celebrates its 70th year, the government needs to put the NHS on a sustainable financial footing so it can continue to provide the same high quality, free at the point of use care that it is valued for by the general public."

Ruth Robertson, fellow at The King’s Fund, said: "The drop in public satisfaction with the NHS is significant, especially as it comes amid widespread political concern about the future of the service. Just as striking is that satisfaction with general practice has slumped to its lowest levels since the survey started in 1983. This reflects the huge pressure on general practices, which are struggling to meet growing demand and recruit enough GPs. Given this context, it’s not surprising that public satisfaction with general practice has been in steady decline since 2010.

"Most of the respondents or their family members will have visited the GP in the last year, so the GP satisfaction indicator offers us a rich insight into how people have found their hands-on experience with the NHS and how that compares to previous years and decades."